Will This Football-shaped Fish Call Revolutionize Angling?

While the concept of a fish call has been explored before, a father-and-son team from Louisiana say they have designed the first throwable, floating, electronic fish attractor to hit the market, and they hope it will revolutionize fishing. The pair recently started a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, hoping to raise a modest $10,000 to produce the acorn-shaped devices, and as of Monday, have already exceeded their goal by attaining $43,000 in pledges.

According to their campaign page, 16-year-old Jack Danos and his father Jeff Danos have spent the last 10 months working on the device and used a 3D printer to build their first prototype. The inventors intend to use their funds to hire a major manufacturing company for mass production.

“We have done most of our testing in coastal saltwater and freshwater ponds,” they wrote on Kickstarter. “We have caught Red Fish, Speckled Trout, Black Drum, Flounder, SheepsHead, Black Tip Shark, Blue Fish, Channel Mullet, Bass, Catfish, Bowfin and Blue Gill. All were caught within a few feet of The Fish Call!”

How does the device work? The Fish Call is essentially a floating speaker that plays pre-recorded sounds and vibrations designed to attract certain schooling fish. The concept is a simple one, but according to its inventors, it works beautifully.

“It’s super easy to use: Just turn it on and deploy it by either throwing or placing it into the water. You can use the included anchor to keep it in place or remove it to let it drift. It broadcasts out sounds and vibrations that mimic the sounds of schooling and feeding fish,” stated the Kickstarter campaign. “The fish can’t help but head towards it in search of their next meal! It’s about the size of a mini football and weighs less than a pound, making it easy to toss into the water, and compact enough for super-convenient storage.”

Watch a promo for the Fish Call below:

Captain Charlie Thomason, who runs Bayou Charters, said he initially had his doubts about the device’s effectiveness. Like many other anglers, Thomason has seen his share of “revolutionary” fishing aids and now maintains a healthy skepticism of any new products. After a fishing trip with Jack and Jeff Danos, however, the charter captain now says he is an enthusiastic supporter of the Fish Call.

“They show up with this product and they tell me hey, this is going to revolutionize the way everybody catches fish, and I’m like OK Ive heard it a thousand times.” Thomason told WGNO. “We go out fishin’ we throw this thing out in the water, I am not kidding, we start catching fish, we were catching them so close to it, we were actually hookin’ fish and they were running into it and we’re reeling it in with the fish.”

The inventors expect to send out their first Fish Calls to those who have helped crowdfund their project later this year. The Kickstarter campaign will end on September 17.